At a shop in Mountain View, Arkansas, USA, I look around and find this treasure. A photo of a lovely girl, her hair bobbed short in the fashion of her day. The black and white photo leans against the smooth back of an antique chair. The seat of the maple chair makes a shelf for a pink sewing box and silk pin cushions, more than likely handmade. As a writer, the photo interests me. Who was this girl? Where did she grow up? Here, in this Ozarks region or “away from here?” What was her name? Her photo is a story prompt with many possibilities. And my imagination takes over to make me wonder if her name might have been Calypso. But no, I think not. The time frame of my short story about Calypso Travis is contemporary and this girl lived a long time ago. So that settles that. Still, I wonder. What was her name? Do any of my readers care to guess? What do you think her name might have been? Or, if you are a writer or a poet using this story prompt for your character, what would you call her? I’d like to know your answers. Will you please tell me in a comment below? Thanks.
© 2013 Freeda Baker Nichols
November 8, 2013
I think her name is Sally!
My mom had pincushions just like those. I loved playing with the black threaded pigtails! My uncle had sent them from Okinawa where he was stationed in the 1970’s.
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How cool that your mom had pincushions like those in the photo. Thanks, Cathy. Sally is a good name for the girl and it’s the name of my second granddaughter.
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I’m getting in on this late, but how about Katherine? I always wonder why family pictures end up in antique stores and flea markets. Maybe all the family who knew her are gone. Sad. But she looks like a girl with spunk, doesn’t she.
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Hey, I like Katherine. And I like your take on that “she looks like a girl with spunk.” I think there is fodder her for poems or stories. Great, how bloggers have responded to this.
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I think her name was Elsie, My mom’s name.
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Nice. I once had a sweet neighbor named Elsie. But in all the travels with the Air Force, I lost touch with her.
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Mary
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That one’s nice. My mother-in-law’s name was Mary Ellen.
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I have a tendency to place good solid names on this era. How about Martha?
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Great! The name of my grandmother, a cousin, and a dear friend, and other acquaintances and friends. Thank you.
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Just “Jane”…
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I think Jane is a good name for the girl in the photo. My husband and I think she’s from the “Roaring Twenties”
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So now we have, Annette, Edith, Lena and Evelyn.
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I think her name is Lena. My husband says Evelyn.
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I like Edith.
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Okay! Good one. I am still thinking on mine. Choosing names is fun but difficult. Thank you for taking part in this little blogging challenge.
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It really was fun!
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🙂
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She looks like an Annette to me
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I like that. Thanks.
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